Mention the name Vivienne James in financial services circles and it typically conjures up memories of the Women's Money Book she published while at BT. James currently works at South African investment bank Investec and is involved more directly in financial planning.
Three years ago you were with BT and you were known in the industry and to investors through your book and association with BT. What happened and how did you find yourself with the little-known-in-Australia bank Investec?
Bearing I'd been in BT 23 years, I started being institutionalised. It wasn't a bad thing to look for another challenge. I'd worked a lot with advisers in BT and thought I'd either go into funds management or advising. I had studied DFP at BT and as far as going to Investec, I'd been approached. I obviously had wonderful years at BT but those things eventually run their cycle. It was time to move and for me moving into a financial planning role was a big challenge, even though I'd been dealing with investors. I was heading the private investment division when Westpac took us over and there was a conflict looking after those clients and direct clients. It made me sit back and think 'where do I want to go'. Then Investec approached with the job.
Has your position in the company changed? In this role are you more hands on managing people's money than you were at BT?
I'm very much more hands on and the difference was at BT I was in education talking about investments we offered but we didn't take the extra step and actually advise. We had what we considered very good products, but at the end of the day it was up to the client as to what risk they took. Where I am now, as a finance consultant/adviser, we take full responsibility for recommending the strategy that we propose. That is major responsibility and every quarter we meet with the client and we're very transparent. It's a lot more hands on, which I enjoy very much.
Have women become more savvy managing their money or is there more of a need for education? Investec runs workshops for female investors - do the women that attend ask very different questions from men?
Yes and yes. Women have become more savvy and educated, but I believe it's lifelong education, particularly in financial services. In the recent Asgard survey, it showed most people were now aware of the 2006 budget proposal of super changes. More men knew a bit about it but when pressed didn't know the details. Actually, what we're seeing is that women are interested in learning. The next Investec forum is later this month. Women find there's still enjoyment in learning more about investments and they value that they are in a comfortable environment to ask questions.
The forum is trying to stay small [25-35 people]. Topics are more wide ranging. They still want to know how to make money but they'll be more wide ranging. They may not quote facts back but they'll aim for the same outcome. They are more relationship than transactional. They don't just want to make money; they want to enjoy dealing with the person involved in making the investment. We have had socially responsible investment (SRI) presentations, and it's a generalisation, but there's an interest with women in the forum for more sustainable investment than making a quick dollar. We have a forum committee with two clients and three advisers and they come up with the topics. The fact that SRI was of interest, and philanthropy was another, shows in the decisions of that group.
Are there different needs for women?
They are more risk averse and if they're not confident with shares, building the confidence of investing in that sector can be slow. It also depends on the amount of money they have. The other thing is the issue of longevity. Everyone wants to know investments will do well and that they won't be on the street managing it without a partner at some stage; that they can be provided with enough until they are 100 or whatever the expectation is these days. That's all part of it, and the way women approach advice is they want to know they'll be okay and the kids will be okay, but they don't know what to do. Even though we don't do risk, we outsource it and we would put in plans for estate planning and risk. I see it as part of our role that we make them aware of what they need.
You've now been in the industry an amazing 20-plus years. What differences have you found and what would you like to see change in the next 20?
Transparency of fees has been good, but the amount of compliance and paperwork has made seeing a planner more costly and expensive than it needs to be. Simplification of super is wonderful. For the first time I'm seeing enthusiasm of investing in structured savings across the board. It's really made super more attractive across all levels of investment. Hopefully the economies of scale will see the price of platforms really reduce. We don't tend to use wraps at this stage. The cost for clients with a number of entities is not viable.
In Part 2 of our exclusive series, we ask leading names to nominate their best investments, the most effective industry group and the importance of platforms.
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